Stampedes are scary! Unless you and your friends are in a rush to get out to recess, you’ll probably never know what it’s like to be in a stampede. We survived one with the help of White Buffalo Woman.

When animals like bison or cattle stampede, they don’t care who or what they run over. So if you’re planning to be a cowboy and work around cattle, this advice is for you!

1. Anything from a soft noise to the sudden movement of a horse or person can spook cattle and make them stampede. This is especially true at night.

2. Move your horse away from the herd if you need to jump off.

3. Cowboys sing to their cattle to keep them calm. You might try that if you want to prevent a stampede. Just don’t sing anything too wild.

4. Cattle don’t like to turn left. With this in mind, cowboys ride ahead of stampeding cattle and turn them to the right until they begin to run in a tight circle. When the circle gets too tight, the cattle will begin to slow down and stop.

5. If you are off your horse during a stampede, try getting to the nearest tree, rock, or whatever you can find. Singing won’t help you at all.